Heya guys,
I'm not new to 3d software, but I am new to shapeways and the concept of 3d printing.
I am currently working on a school project called 'Memory' which I hope will result in a 3d-printed sculpture.
But I've got a couple of questions I hope you can help me out with.

The project consist of two characters, in a romantic pose. And in the final version I would like them to rise up from a web of neurons(in relation to the theme 'memory'). But before I can do that I must know a bit more about the requirements to make this print properly.
- Must I after joining the objects also make it into 1 mesh? (for example would I have to modify the fingers in relation to the body?)
How does Shapeways handle that intersecting geometry?
- How thick/big must the statue be for the fingers, strands of neurons (still to be added) to be strong enough?
- What is the realistic price/size I am looking at when printing this?
I am (probably foolishly) hoping to print it between 5 and 20 cm high?
I have no need for fancy materials, a simple white plastic would do.

To begin with make sure each model is manifold, all normals calculated correctly, no stray verts or edges. (Blender can run checks on non manifold verts, stray verts and edges). Do not join yet. SW will use a Boolean union on two intersecting objects. Just make sure the two models volumes intersect, then select both, export. You will need to do this, for the obvious purpose, but also allow whoever is helping to to determine possible problems

Have any questions regarding Blender, and need fast answers, you are always welcome at the IRC Server Freenode, channel #blender. As a bonus, several there have experience in modelling for 3D prints.

Mark that they should really intersect, not just touch at the surface. The Shapeways software runs into trouble if two surfaces are really close. For example, the hands touching the other figure: make the fingers a bit thicker so that they reach into the skin.

For thickness etc., read the material info pages. As a general 1 mm can be taken the minimum thickness.
To get a price, upload a version onto Shapeways and see what the system calcualtes. Easy to change by uploading a revised file (bigger, smaller, more details etc.)

Other useful tool to help you along your way is NetFabb Studio Basic andNetFabb Cloud Service. Both are free, Studio can be used for error checking,
repairing and measuring parts of the model. The Cloud Service does a very
good job of repairing and booleaning meshes.